I am wanting to sell my Ruger pistol in a private party sale. What do I need to do to follow the law here in tennessee in order to sell it to a private party. Is it legal to sell the pistol to a resident of kentucky if that person drives down to tennessee to purchase it?

I believe I am right but don't take this as gospel...
You can not sell it to an out of state resident without shipping it to an FFl in Kentucky and having them do the transfer.
As long as the person lives in the same state as you do, I don't believe there are any restrictions. Of course if you know the person is a convicted felon you can't sell to him but other thatn that I don't think there are any restrictions.

You can't sell a hangun to someone from another state, unless it is via an FFL transfer.
If you ship it out of state (you cannot use the USPS, but you can ship via FedEx or UPS) it must be shipped to an FFL in the state the person lives.
The person cannot travel to your state and purchase the handgun. Title 18, Sec. 922A (3) (5).
Sec. 922. - Unlawful acts
(a) It shall be unlawful -

(3) for any person, other than a licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, licensed dealer, or licensed collector to transport into or receive in the State where he resides (or if the person is a corporation or other business entity, the State where it maintains a place of business) any firearm purchased or otherwise obtained by such person outside that State, except that this paragraph (A) shall not preclude any person who lawfully acquires a firearm by bequest or intestate succession in a State other than his State of residence from transporting the firearm into or receiving it in that State, if it is lawful for such person to purchase or possess such firearm in that State,

(5) for any person (other than a licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, licensed dealer, or licensed collector) to transfer, sell, trade, give, transport, or deliver any firearm to any person (other than a licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, licensed dealer, or licensed collector) who the transferor knows or has reasonable cause to believe does not reside in (or if the person is a corporation or other business entity, does not maintain a place of business in) the State in which the transferor resides; except that this paragraph shall not apply to

(A) the transfer, transportation, or delivery of a firearm made to carry out a bequest of a firearm to, or an acquisition by intestate succession of a firearm by, a person who is permitted to acquire or possess a firearm under the laws of the State of his residence, and

(B)the loan or rental of a firearm to any person for temporary use for lawful sporting purposes;

Note, I left out all the paragraphs that did not pertain to the original question.

"To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of people always possess arms..." (Richard Henry Lee)
"The best we can hope for concerning the people at large is that they be properly armed." (Alexander Hamilton)

MitchSchaft wrote:If he drives down you can sell it to him. You just can't mail it to him. Also, if he lives in TN you can't mail it to him either.

You CANNOT sale or transfer a firearm to someone who lives in another state. This has been illegal since the Gun Control Act of 1968.

You CANNOT travel to another state to purchase or receive a firearm, also illegal since the GCA '68.

Inheritance is another issue.

You sure CAN sell a firearm to someone in another state (I have done it a few times), as long as the sale goes through an FFL in the purchaser's state of residence. The Gun Control Act does not prevent the sale of guns to another person in another state.

The following information is taken directly off the ATF website:
A person not licensed under the GCA and not prohibited from acquiring firearms may purchase a firearm from an out-of-state source and obtain the firearm if an arrangement is made with a licensed dealer in the purchaser's state of residence for the purchaser to obtain the firearm from the dealer. [18 U. S. C 922( a)( 3) and (5), 922( b)( 3), 27 CFR 178.29]

I have sold handguns via Gunbroker.com. The required procedure is:
Purchaser contacts an FFL in their state, and the FFL MAILS a photocopy of his license, signed in any color ink other than black (proves it is not a fax copy).
The seller, upon receiving the copy of the FFL, goes to the ATF website, and runs a check on the license number to see if it is valid. If valid, you can ship the unloaded handgun via FedEx next day air, or UPS next day air, to the FFL. (Per FedEx and/or UPS, do not mark the package as having a handgun. Take the FFL copy to the FedEx or UPS depot, in case they want to verify it is addressed to an FFL. You have to disclose to FedEx or UPS it is a handgun. DO NOT ship via the US Postal Services, only an FFL can ship via USPS to another FFL or manufacturer.)
The FFL charges a fee to the purchaser, and runs any required ATF/State checks.

"To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of people always possess arms..." (Richard Henry Lee)
"The best we can hope for concerning the people at large is that they be properly armed." (Alexander Hamilton)

This is getting out of hand. My original reply was for the person, living in TN, who wanted to know about selling a gun to a resident of KY.
You had answered the original post saying if the person drives down (from KY) you can sell it to him. I then posted information from Title 18 which says you cannot do this, legally. It has to go through an FFL.

Then someone says you CANNOT sell a handgun to a person in another state. That is when I posted the information from the ATF site on how you can legally sell a handgun to a person in another state; yes, it was stated by FedEx or UPS; however, you can drive to the other state, and present it to an FFL.

To summarize:
You can sell a handgun, across state lines, as long as it is processed through an FFL in the state the purchaser lives in.

It is legal for a resident of TN to sell a handgun to another resident of TN, without going through an FFL. I cannot say this is true for all states, since some states may outlaw this practice. (I would guess that states like IL, MA, NJ, NY, CA, do have some sort of law that would prevent you from selling a handgun to your neighbor, but I do no know for sure.)

Hope this clarifies what I have been saying.

"To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of people always possess arms..." (Richard Henry Lee)
"The best we can hope for concerning the people at large is that they be properly armed." (Alexander Hamilton)

I think what mitchschaft is asking is...If you advertise a gun for sale in your local newspaper or thrifty nickel and someones calls and says they want to buy your gun, you meet them and they give you the cash. As the seller, do you have to verify that they live in TN? Can you take their word or do you have to check their drivers license?

I think what mitchschaft is asking is...If you advertise a gun for sale in your local newspaper or thrifty nickel and someones calls and says they want to buy your gun, you meet them and they give you the cash. As the seller, do you have to verify that they live in TN? Can you take their word or do you have to check their drivers license?

Thanks

Bill, Jr

I'm not an attorney, and I give no legal advice. I just have plenty of experience selling handguns.

This is part of the statement from Title 18, I'll let you decide:
"...who the transferor knows or has reasonable cause to believe does not reside in (or if the person is a corporation or other business entity, does not maintain a place of business in) the State in which the transferor resides..."

From my own personal sales, yes, I do ask if they are a resident of TN, and I want a photograph of their driver's license (they can black out their SS and driver's license number). However, for my own personal records, I want proof that I verified their residence at least through one piece of photo ID. It may not be necessary; however, I would rather be safe than be someones "friend" in jail. If the person ever used the handgun for illegal purposes, who is to say they won't tell the police that I sold the handgun to them, knowing they lived out of state. I also do a complete bill of sale which is signed by both of us. So far, I have never had a problem with someone giving me a photocopy of their license or signing the bill of sale.

"To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of people always possess arms..." (Richard Henry Lee)
"The best we can hope for concerning the people at large is that they be properly armed." (Alexander Hamilton)